This invention relates to electrical connectors, and, more particularly, to separable electrical connectors suited for use under high voltage conditions.
Even more particularly, this invention relates to gas actuated high voltage bushings having a contact mounted within a bore for reciprocal movement within a bushing housing, such as that illustrated in Flatt U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,155 issued July 4, 1978 and incorporated herein by reference.
Electrical connectors, such as that described in the above Flatt patent, have had a housing having a passage including an electrically conductive surface fixably secured within the housing, and a contact assembly disposed in the passage and movable relative to the housing conductive surface. Such devices have also included a contactor for providing electrical continuity between the contact assembly and the housing conductive surface. As illustrated in the above Flatt patent, and as also illustrated in Stanger et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,709 issued Jan. 6, 1976 and Stepniak et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,985 issued Feb. 5, 1980, the contactor has often been in the form of a metallic louvered spring member encircling a portion of the contact assembly in an electrically conductive relationship with the contact assembly and the housing conductive surface. Flatt U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,329 issued Dec. 26, 1978 illustrates another type of contactor in the form of an annular compression spring received in an annular groove in the housing conductive surface.
Tachick et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,358 issued Oct. 10, 1978 illustrates another type of contactor in the form of a sliding contact sleeve flared outwardly to resiliently engage the housing conductive surface.
A problem inherent with these types of contactors is that the contactor is usually made of a material different than the contact assembly and the housing conductive surface. This increases the likelihood of having a poor current path between the housing conductive surface and the contact assembly, which can result in premature failure of the connector due to high resistance hot spots causing insulation breakdown. Further, the need for providing a separate member increases the cost of the product.
Electrical connectors of this type have also usually included additional mechanical mechanisms for facilitating threaded engagement of different portions of the contact assembly when the connector is assembled. In order to provide for this threading engagement, slot and key arrangements have been used to prevent rotation of the contact assembly relative to the housing. See, for example, elements 44 and 50h in the Stanger et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,709. In other embodiments, a mating or serrated teeth arrangement has been provided on one end of the contact assembly for engaging the housing conductive surface when the contact assembly is in a particular position. When the contact assembly is moved from this position, the teeth no longer engage.